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Not everyone who smokes does so voluntarily. Environmental tobacco smoke causes heart disease and cancer. In 1992, the American Heart Association called environmental tobacco smoke “a major preventable cause of cardiovascular disease and death.” Experts estimate that 35,000 to 40,000 deaths each year from cardiovascular disease and another 3,000 to 5,000 deaths from lung cancer are directly related to exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.Knowing this, it is reasonable to insist on a smoke-free work site and to not allow guests to smoke in your home. When you are looking for daycare facilities for your children, choose one where they will not be exposed to tobacco smoke. Children who are raised in the homes of smokers are more likely to have ear and upper respiratory infections and other problems that require them to visit the doctor and miss school more often.The risk of secondhand (also called side-stream or passive) smoking increases as the exposure increases. There is no threshold below which there is no risk from environmental tobacco smoke.*233\252\8*

Another cause of obstruction in the blood vessels is overgrowth of the muscle in the wall of the artery, which is called fibromuscular dysplasia. The arteries to the kidneys are most vulnerable. Renal (kidney) arteries can also develop atherosclerotic blockages.Regardless of cause, when blood flow is diminished to the kidneys, your blood pressure tends to increase. Here’s why: when your kidneys get inadequate blood flow they react as though blood pressure were low all over the body. This response triggers the kidneys to release hormone “messengers” that increase blood pressure. This process is similar to blowing cold air on a thermostat: the thermostat responds by increasing the heat in the whole house. Artery blockage in the kidneys can also lead to a decrease in their ability to eliminate waste products.*202\252\8*

Green VegetablesGreen vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables exhibit unusual wide anti-cancer powers. A recent Italian study showed a powerful protection from the frequent consumption of green vegetables against the risk of most cancers. Green vegetables such as spinach, fenugreek, dark green lettuce and broccoli, are full of many different antioxidants, including beta carotene and folic acid, as well as lutein – a little-known antioxidant. Some scientists believe that lutein may even be as powerful as beta carotene in blocking cancer. Green leafy vegetables are rich in lutein. Darkest green vegetables should be chosen to derive maximum carotenoids and other anticancer agents. According to Frederick Khachik, Ph.D., a research scientist at the Department of Agriculture, “The darker green they are the most cancer preventing carotenoids they have”. He also says lutein and other carotenoids are not lost during cooking or freezing, although heat exercises harmful effects on more fragile antioxidants, including vitamin С and glutathione.
LiquoriceLiquorice, a popular spice and a flavouring agent, is credited with the properties of foods which not only help prevent cancer but also retard its spread. Triterpenoids contained in liquorice may block quick-growing cancer cells and cause some precancerous cells to return to normal growth. This spice can be used either in the form of powder, decoction or infusion. The preparation can be taken mixed with honey.*35/355/5*

Let’s start with a brief note on the evolution of the backbone, not in the very beginning, but at the level of the primates. When primates walked on all fours the spine was horizontal (as in dogs, horses, monkeys etc). The spine supported the weight of the various internal organs while the forelegs supported much of the weight of the body. The weight of the internal organs and the actual weight of the spine were supported by the back muscles.Now this is important. Animals struck with a tranquillising dart collapse within minutes as the muscles of the legs and the spine collapse. Although the spine consists of tightly bound vertebrae, which give it great strength, on its own, without the muscles, it is not able to support internal organs (lungs, heart, liver, intestines, etc). Thus the spinal muscles attached to the various parts of the vertebral column of primates had to create a horizontal force that would keep the spine in that position. These muscles acted like steel wires or ropes and just as the weight of the washing is supported by a clothes line, so the weight of the visceral organs is supported by spinal muscles.Let us look at some of the functions of the spine in general and see how the structure of the spine caters to these functions.Human beings walk erect (since Homo Erectus in the evolutionary chain) and, therefore, the vertebrae of the spine become larger in the lower part to facilitate that. Just like the Eiffel Tower or a bamboo stem, which is thin at the top and becomes progressively thicker towards the base, the spinal vertebrae too become increasingly larger at the base of the spine so that the extra weight can be carried.*60\330\8*

Some people express anger directly and openly, usually in private, though Dean has cried in church. “Tremendous anger wells up in me,” Dean says. “I cry during hymns, reading those words. At home alone, I lose my temper, bang doors, throw things, yell. It’s important to me to release my anger, but I try to be careful not to hurt anything.” Steven uses almost identical words: “I feel anger building up on a weekly basis. I want to run up and down the road and cry. When I’m really angry, I beat on the bed with a piece of hose, which is noisy and very satisfying. Or I go in the bedroom and jump up and down and yell.” Other people express anger more obliquely. “I’d cry every morning and night in the car on the way to and from work,” said Helen. “Sometimes I’d have to pull over to the side. And I went through a period where I snapped at my customers in the post office. When they asked why, I’d say, ‘Oh, the stupid Xerox machine won’t work.’ ” In fact, people generally express anger not at the true causes, at unfairness or at loss of control. Instead, like Helen and the Xerox machine, they get angriest at little things: “My husband expressed a lot of anger about things so small, they were all out of proportion to what he was angry about,” said Lisa. “I’d fix him oatmeal, and it was not what he’d wanted, or it wasn’t hot enough.” People also get angry at whatever is nearest. Sometimes, like Lisa’s husband, they get angry at their caregivers. Some people turn their anger toward the medical system. They say that government medical assistance requires that you first become impoverished before you can get help, and that you fill out an amount of paperwork equaled only by the IRS. They say that hospital clinics make you wait for hours, that the clinic doctor you felt you had rapport with last time has been replaced by someone else, and that the clinic clerks are rude. The drugs have unpleasant side effects, tests are painful and invasive, and so are the procedures. Hospitals do not allow a sense of control and privacy. Doctors seem impersonal and inattentive, nurses too slow. The rooms are too hot or too cold. And, Steven said to his doctor angrily, “Why are they taking so long to find a cure?” Some people, like Alan Madison, say they are not particularly angry. They are uncomfortable with expressing an emotion which is, after all, overwhelming. They worry that giving in to anger means losing face or losing self-control. Their anger at unfairness and loss of control, however, often has not disappeared. Instead of getting angry at co-workers or the medical system, these people turn their anger on themselves. They feel depressed or guilty or they dislike themselves: Alan felt hopeless and stopped seeing his friends. Some eat too much: Lisa gained twenty pounds after her husband’s diagnosis. Others rely too heavily on alcohol or drugs. Some continue the behavior that put them at risk for the infection in the first place: for a while, though she denied doing it, Helen went back to injecting drugs intravenously. In general, when people are depressed, they quit taking care of themselves.
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RemicadeRemicade (infliximab) also inhibits the actions of TNF, though it does it differently. This drug is really an antibody against the TNE It is made from both mouse and human protein. It is also called a monoclonal antibody because it is made from only one cell source.Remicade is given intravenously by a doctor or a nurse.The side effects are pretty similar to those experienced with Enbrel, but, in addition, your body can produce antibodies against the drug.You usually have to take another immunosuppressant like methotrexate to prevent the development of new antibodies.
Cortisone Cortisone is a steroid used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, but it should be used sparingly, since patients may become dependent on it.One of the great physicians of the past, Dr. Philip Hench, noted that cortisone was a “cure” for RA back in the 1940s. In fact, it was so good that everyone with RA started to take the drug -until its side effects became apparent.Cortisone will normalize the findings on X-rays. When the drug is stopped or decreased, however, there is the so-called rebound phenomenon, and the patient actually gets worse.This drug is given to treat the most severe forms of the disease, as when vasculitis or fluid around the heart with inflammation of the coverings of the heart is present. Occasionally, it is given to quell the severe pain and inflammation of a very hot joint. *38/141/5*

What is methotrexate?Methotrexate is a favored drug among rheumatologists for the treatment of RA. It interferes with a metabolic pathway called the folic acid pathway.
How does it work?It interrupts the cycle of certain cells important to the immune system.
What is the usual dose?Patients with RA usually begin with a low dose, usually 7.5 milligrams per week, followed by a gradual increase to 25 milligrams per week. Some patients can even tolerate higher doses. It is really up to your doctor. It should be taken with 1 to 4 milligrams of folic acid daily, as this vitamin limits the poisonous effects of the drug.
When does it start to work?It usually takes effect within four to six weeks.Traditional Therapy: Drugs, Surgery, and Rehabilitation Therapy
What side effects should I watch out for?Some of the most common side effects of this drug include sores in the mouth, lung congestion, nausea, abdominal cramps, loss of appetite, and, although rarely, infections. Fortunately, these are not common, and most are reversible when caught early. In addition, new nodules similar to rheumatoid nodules form in some patients. Your doctor can treat these nodules with a drug called colchicine.*33/141/5*

Body Chemistry and AlcoholismIn the past forty years, research has linked alcoholism to biochemistry in various ways.The Masked Allergy TheoryAllergy and addiction were thought to be different reactions but recent research suggests that the only difference is in the timing of the symptoms.Low Blood Sugar and AlcoholismIt is well known that recovering alcoholics crave sugary foods. Increasing evidence is showing that many alcoholics have shown symptoms of faulty sugar metabolism since childhood.Caffeine and AlcoholCaffeine is another substance which gives temporary relief to the symptoms of low blood sugar and it is possibly because of this that heavy drinkers often drink cola, tea and coffee during the day and alcohol in the evenings. The caffeine eases the low blood sugar symptoms (a large part of the misery of a hangover) until the evening drinking starts and so the circle continues. This would fit with the theory that alcoholics have nutritional deficiencies before becoming alcoholics and that while in part their nutritional deficiencies are due to mal-absorption caused by alcohol, some degree of deficiency precedes the drinking.Alcohol and HeredityIt could be argued that bad character traits can be inherited – so can biochemical make-up.*47\326\8*

One of the first difficulties is the denial problem. The tendency, when faced with the alcoholic’s massive rejection of reality, is to want to force him to face all the facts right now. The trouble with this approach is that self-knowledge is often bought at the price of anxiety, and anxiety is a drinking trigger. What to do? Provide lots of support to counteract the initial anxiety caused by the acceptance of the reality of the drinking itself. Then, gradually, keep supporting the small increments in awareness that occur in the sober experience. It is always the temptation of a counselor or family to take denial personally, to think the alcoholic is “lying” to them. Remind yourself that the alcoholic has adopted this defense as protection against the massive pain that would go with facing the “cold, hard facts.” Its function is to fool the self, not the others. It is difficult but very necessary to remember that the denial of some particular issue is serving a useful purpose at the time, keeping overwhelming pain and anxiety at bay until more strength is available. The counselor must decide how much of either the client can tolerate. The question facing the counselor is whether the denial is still necessary or whether it has become counterproductive, blocking further progress.*104\331\2*

If you have been identified as having an allergy to a particular food or food additive, you should check the ingredients in all processed and packaged foodstuffs. A number of food additives and preservatives are known to trigger asthma attacks and other allergy symptoms in susceptible people. It is more common, in these cases, for asthma to be triggered by the additives and preservatives contained in a food, than the food itself. (These are irritants, not allergens.)In Australia, food labels must list all the ingredients in a given package. A code numbering system has been developed to identify specific food additives. This means, for example, that tartrazine (a yellow dye known to trigger asthma in some people) cannot be listed simply as ‘Colour’. The manufacturer must use the class name, ‘Colour’, as well as the specific name of the additive colour, ‘Tartrazine’. Or, to simplify the label, the manufacturer may use the code number for tartrazine, ‘Colour (102)’. The name of an additive must be specified when there is no appropriate class name or a code number has not been allocated.Listed below are the class names which describe the functions performed by food additives, followed by the additive numbers. Using this information to identify ingredients will assist with avoiding known allergens.*36\148\2*